Note: all links have been removed from this archival copy, but the author questions (bundled according to subject/period) and study guides referenced below can be found in relevant sections of the Resource Gallery. Instructions pages for journals, presentations, etc. were similar to those available in my current courses. MP3 audio of class sessions for selected courses is still available in the Audio Archive. My blog entries for most courses are available from the Blogs Index.

Course Information. English 491, Course Code 13045. Thurs. 7:00-9:45 p.m., McCarthy Hall (MH) 685. Office hrs: Thurs. 6:00-6:50 in University Hall 329. e491_at_ajdrake.com. Catalog: "(covers) the major English critics, from the Renaissance to the beginning of the 20th century, in relationship to the classical theories of criticism. Units (3)." Prereq: ENGL 300 or equivalent. I will use +/- grading.

Turning in Journals/Papers: Email assignments as Word/WP attachments. Email them separately -- i.e. send one email with your term paper attached, and four separate emails for the four journal sets. Label subject lines appropriately: "E491 Journal 1, Jane Smith" etc. Copying-and-pasting is fine for journal sets, or you can send them as an attachment. Please contact me if you don't receive an email confirmation within three days.

Course Policies. Please review early in the semester.

Presentations Requirement. Undergraduates will sign up for several (usually three) 3-5-minute informal presentations (graduates 5-7 minute). On the first day, students will choose authors; I will add specific questions and post a schedule on the Presentations Page. Each session will feature several presentations and comments by the instructor and other participants. At least three days before you present, I require that you contact me to discuss your ideas. After you present, email me a version of your comments and I'll post it to the course blog. Your post should be similar to your class comments, but it need not be identical. See Blogging. 25% of course grade.

Journals Requirement. Responses to a choice of questions on each author. Due by email anytime on class day Weeks 4, 8, 12, and Final Exam Day. Electronic format required. 25%.

Term Paper Requirement. Rough draft suggested, final draft (5-7 pg / 10-15 grad) due by exam day or as specified towards the bottom of the syllabus page. Follow MLA guidelines. Graduate papers should respond to primary texts and secondary criticism; for undergraduates research is optional. See Resources/Guides/Writing Guides: MLA, Grammar, Deductive, Citing, Analyzing, and Editing. 25%.

Final Exam Requirement. The exam will consist of substantive id passages, short questions requiring paragraph responses, and one comparative essay. There will be more choices than required responses. Books and notes allowed for all sections. Exam date: Thursday, Dec. 14th 7:30-9:20 p.m. 25%.

WEEK 3

WEEK 4

WEEK 5

09/21. Augustine, Aquinas, Maimonides, Christine de Pizan. Augustine's On Christian Doctrine (185-92) and The Trinity (192-96); Aquinas' Summa Theologica (240-46); Maimonides' The Guide of the Perplexed (211-226); Pizan's The Book of the City of Ladies (263-70).

WEEK 6

09/28. Joachim du Bellay and Giacopo Mazzoni. Du Bellay's Defence and Illustration of the French Language (279-90); Mazzoni's On the Defense of the Comedy of Dante (299-323).

WEEK 7

10/05. Pierre Corneille and Giambattista Vico. Corneille's "Of the Three Unities of Action, Time, and Place" (363-79); Vico's The New Science (399-416).

WEEK 14

WEEK 15

11/30. Charles Baudelaire and Stephane Mallarme. Baudelaire's The Painter of Modern Life (789-802); Mallarme's "Crisis in Poetry" (841-51).

WEEK 16

12/07. Friedrich Nietzsche, Ferdinand de Saussure. Nietzsche's "On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense" (870-884); de Saussure's "Introduction" to Course in General Linguistics and Part One, Chapter I (956-77).

FINAL EXAM

Final Exam Date: Thursday, Dec. 14th 7:30-9:20 p.m. Journal Set 4 and the Term Paper will be due by email attachment on or before Dec. 27th. (I must turn in grades by Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007.) For other courses, see CSUF's Final Exam Schedule.